


Life Before Nemo

by herbalwolf



Category: Finding Nemo (Movies)
Genre: Enjoy!, Expect baby shenanigans and friendships, F/M, Like... WAY before, Plus so many other fish that I can't list here, Takes place BEFORE the opening scene on Finding Nemo, This is just my own take on what may have happened before the movie's events took place, This isn't canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:14:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22457077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herbalwolf/pseuds/herbalwolf
Summary: What happened before the Barracuda attack? Follow our heroes as they go through the scariest thing imaginable- growing up.
Relationships: Coral/Marlin (Finding Nemo)
Kudos: 4





	Life Before Nemo

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Sea Shells](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7413877) by [IslaKariese](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IslaKariese/pseuds/IslaKariese). 



It was early morning- the sun filtered gently through the water, bright corals and light golds illuminating the rocks and plant life on the seafloor. An anemone, viridian in color, swayed with the slow-moving current of the Reef. It was a rather large, spacey one; taking up most of the space of the boulder it had grown on. Facing the open ocean.  
What a view.

Inside of this anemone was a large family of clownfish- of course, the only fish physically able to even be _near_ the plant. Two adults and an array of fry. Happily sleeping, snug as a sea slug within the swaying tendrils. Orange clashed with white, and flutters of fins only slightly abrupted the peace that resonated in the overgrown polyp. One fry, in particular, slept underneath many of his nestmates; he found solace in the warmth they gave off, making him feel safe. He was the first in the school to wake up.  
Yawning softly and rubbing his eyes with his round fins, he wiggled out from his place in the pile, letting out utterances of annoyance from his still sleepy siblings. The clownfish poked his head from the tendrils, giggling at the feeling of gentle zaps to his scales from the anemone. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he spotted a large figure swimming through the water; far away enough to not bump into the reef, but close enough to be made out clearly.  
"A whale!" he shrieked in excitement, his fins fanning out as he observed the huge mammal. However, his joy was shortlived as his siblings squealed and shot out from the tendrils, knocking him over into the deep. Swimming rapidly to keep from losing his balance- and his dinner- he looked up at his brothers and sisters in disbelief with wide auburn eyes. The parents, grumbling from being woken so abruptly, swam out as well, their eyes widening slightly at the sight of the blue whale.

"Alright kids, back inside the anemone," a male voice sounded as one of the parents swam in front of the group and began ushering them inside. "Mr. Whale is leaving now."  
Groans of disappointment were heard from them all, with a rather bold one sounding out her feelings more profoundly. "But Daaaad!" "No, buts. Now, get back inside."  
The father had stopped for a headcount, pausing in fear as one was missing. "Marlin? Marlin?!"  
"I'm here, Dad!" the young clownfish called, swimming back towards the anemone with a raised fin. "Son, what were you doing so far from the anemone?! You know the rules, when the sun appears, we-"  
"-be afeared," he muttered with a downcast look. " _Exactly._ Now, come on. Your mother's worried about you."

* * *

Later, the young fish were finally able to swim outside- with close parental supervision, of course. Marlin was never as fast as his brothers, lagging behind the group as they span around, corkscrewing through the coral branches nearby. "Guys, wait up!" he panted, paddling his tail faster to catch up with the group. "Hurry up, Snailin! You're slower than Madame Sea Cucumber!"  
The bold one sounded out again, sneering in delight at the sight of her forlorn, out-of-breath younger brother. "C'mon, Kelpie, don't be mean," a smaller yet faster clown scolded, scrunching up his "nose" in distaste. "Oh, shut up, Snapper. He knows I'm messing with him!" Kelpie 'humphed' and swam away, dragging along the other fish with her. Snapper, however, stayed behind and waited for his unfortunately paced brother.  
"I'm... sorry," he panted, slowing to a stop beside Snapper. "I didn't mean to keep you waiting."  
"Oh, don't worry about it. Kelpie's just being a big butt... You're faster today, that's a start!"  
"Yeah. I guess it is."

Snapper suddenly poked Marlin with a fin, a huge grin on his face. "Tag, you're it!" Then, sped off like a mako shark.  
"Hey, no fair!" Marlin laughed, chasing after his brother best he could.


End file.
